In the course of the advancing development of solar cells, solar energy recovery has expanded into a plurality of applications. Solar panels are attached to roofs or facades not only for stationary energy recovery for supply of buildings or are set up on corresponding usable surfaces. They also are used on a mobile basis in the form of mat-shaped, flexible solar panels which are also referred to as thin film solar panels. Such flexible solar panels are attached, for example, to exterior surfaces, especially roof surfaces, of motor vehicles, sporting goods, or recreational gear, and to sport aircraft such as gliders, to form a self-contained power supply or to support one. In addition to a plurality of other possible applications, as a result of their flexibility, mat-shaped solar panels are also suitable for attachment to certain types of functional clothing, for example, in safety clothing for the supply of integrated telemetry devices or communications devices.
The fastening to pertinent supporting structures becomes difficult in view of the mechanical properties of flexible solar panels. The flexibility of the panels does facilitate the attachment to carrier surfaces which are not flat, as is generally the case in parts of motor vehicle bodies and in other equipment. Document WO 2007/123927 A2, in this respect, discloses a solution in which, on the entire lower face of the mat-shaped structure, an adhesive connection to the adjoining supporting structure is formed. This solution is not entirely satisfactory in that the surface of the supporting structure must be suitable for forming the large-area adhesive connection and because major temperature changes, as can occur with high temperature values, for example, on vehicle bodies, can lead to distortions or warping due to different coefficients of thermal expansion.